海角大神

How shall I describe David Burstein? Let鈥檚 do some test messaging 鈥� 1) David Burstein is an energetic tsunami of thought leadership.聽Too overbearing and a bit redundant.聽2) David Burstein is a dynamic change-maker, leveraging today鈥檚 digital and idea economies to pave the way for a better tomorrow.聽Too jargony and rather evergreen.聽3) David Burstein is an impassioned evangelist for Millennials, who uses all forms of media to advance the ideas of his transformative generation.Grandiose, yes 鈥� but I think it鈥檚 accurate.

In truth, David himself is a grandiose guy. At just 24 years of age, he has a聽book, a聽TEDx talk,聽crazy amounts of press, and a聽bio聽that would make even the most seasoned of geopolitical pundits green with envy.

But it鈥檚 not just David鈥檚 ability to promote (both himself and the Gospel of the Millennials) that has helped catapult him onto the global stage. David has the unique ability to mobilize and to inspire; to bring people together around a common cause and to create movements. That sort of thing is rare 鈥� no matter what generation you claim as your own.

David is the founder of聽Generation18, a nonpartisan young voter-engagement organization. The organization grew out of the documentary film,聽18 in 鈥�08, which David directed and produced, about young voters in the 2008 election. From 2007-2008, Generation18 registered over 25,000 new voters, held over 1,000 events in 35 states, and produced a get-out-the-vote PSA series with stars including Olivia Wilde and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

For his work, David received a 2009 DoSomething Award, and his story was featured on several million bags of Doritos. His 2012 follow up film,聽Up to Us, produced with OurTime.org and Comcast, focused on the optimism and resilience of the Millennial Generation in the face of the economic crisis and their continued desire to vote and participate in public service.聽Up to Us聽was screened across the country in the lead up to the 2012 election.

In speaking about his generation of peers (the largest generation ever to live on planet Earth), David says: 鈥淲e鈥檙e writing a new operating system that鈥檚 governing the world we鈥檙e all living in.鈥�

I believe he鈥檚 got that right. And, I like knowing that there are people out there like David who are both leading the way and chronicling it as they go. Thanks for speaking with us David!

The 10 questions

IN JUST ONE SENTENCE, WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE IN LIFE?

To tell better stories.

HOW HAS THIS WORK CHANGED YOU?

I know how to do things I never would鈥檝e learned how to do if I had set out to learn them. In other words, when you work in the kind of stuff that I do, it鈥檚 just creating your own work. It necessitates having to understand how to learn new skills on a regular basis. I鈥檓 much more open to new things and new ideas than when I started 10 years ago. I learn things faster. It鈥檚 also made me more fearless in the things I can and can鈥檛 do. I rarely look at something and say 鈥淚 could never do that.鈥�

WHAT DO YOU GET FROM GIVING?

The ability to have impact and the ability to see impact in real time. For me, that鈥檚 the thing that鈥檚 really exciting 鈥� to be able to do something and see that come right back.

WHO IS A LIVING HERO, AND WHAT WOULD YOU ASK THEM IF GIVEN THE CHANCE?

There鈥檚 a guy named聽Jeff Skoll聽who runs a company called聽Participant Media聽who鈥檚 a real hero of mine because he鈥檚 thought about how film, media, and culture can help us solve social problems. It鈥檚 a great example of the idea that to get people excited about social issues and change we don鈥檛 have to do things that are boring or explicitly related to policy. He鈥檚 really challenged that.聽Olympia Snowe聽is also someone who鈥檚 been a hero of mine. She鈥檚 fought to make government work better, to make our political system more effective, and has such determination to bring more reasonable problem solving into government.

WHAT EVERYDAY RESOURCES COULD HELP YOU ACHIEVE YOUR PHILANTHROPIC GOALS?

There鈥檚 never going to be a better time (and I see it in my work all the time) to do so much with powerful ideas and intellect. Intelligence and the resolve to say 鈥渢his is something I鈥檓 really passionate about,鈥� those can power everything. Passion is the raw fuel for any kind of movement to generate impact. If you don鈥檛 have passion, no amount of money can help you solve the problem, and if you do have it, you still need some resources but it makes it a lot easier to obtain them and get through it. People can tell when they sit down with you if you really care about something or not and if you鈥檙e more passionate about it, people feel you.

WHAT WOULD THE TITLE OF YOUR BOOK BE?

I wrote one!聽Fast Future: How the Millennial Generation is Shaping Your World.

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR OTHERS WHO ASPIRE TO BE CITIZEN-PHILANTHROPISTS?

Make sure that you know what you鈥檙e doing and why you鈥檙e doing it. One of the most common challenges I see is that people don鈥檛 have a long-term picture of where their work is going. If you鈥檙e thinking small, it鈥檚 actually more challenging than if you鈥檙e thinking about changing the entire system. It鈥檚 important to have in mind a big problem you want to solve first and then to go from there.

Everyone also needs to know what it is that they are good at 鈥� what skills they have. Individuals will find that their ability to create impact is found at the intersection of their skills and passion. You may have a great idea to do something but if it doesn鈥檛 line up with any raw skills you have, it鈥檚 probably going to be pretty challenging to do it. Or you need to figure out a way to make your raw skills fit into what your passion is about.

You also have to be regularly reflective about why you鈥檙e doing something. The more reflective you are about what you鈥檙e doing and why you do it, the more success you鈥檒l have. Understanding why you鈥檙e behaving a certain way and making time for reflection on everything is really, really important and makes you stronger.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE INSPIRATION SAYING?

鈥�I just happen to think that in life we need to be a little like the farmer, who puts back into the soil what he takes out.鈥� -- Paul Newman

WHAT IS A BURNING QUESTION THAT YOU HAVE FOR THIS COMMUNITY?

Everybody should ask themselves the question 鈥� "How can I help make the world a better place?" Is there some small way in which they can make things better or at least not make things worse? What is it that you would like to make better? What is it that you can do? Maybe it鈥檚 not today, maybe it鈥檚 in three years, but be intentional about it.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SONG?

My favorite song is聽Dignity聽by Bob Dylan. In addition to being a major lifelong Bob Dylan fan, it鈥檚 just a great song about perspective and what it means to have dignity and integrity and where the value of dignity sits in our world.

鈥� To learn more visit聽http://davidburstein.com.

鈥⒙燭his聽article聽was originally posted at聽Talking GOOD, a series of interviews with 鈥渃itizen philanthropists鈥� who champion causes and lead by example. To nominate someone for a Talking GOOD interview,聽visit this link.